[saintlover]

I am yet another statistic. I am a 42 year old over weight female that was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week. I had borderline gestational diabetes with my son (born 1994) who weighed 11 pounds. I had the worst medical care the Army could provide and had no idea those were risk factors for developing full blown diabetes. I have no idea how long I have had it tbh. I went in to the dr for what I suspected was a bladder infection and found out I had outrageous sugar in my urine (500). They did the finger stick (181) and AC1 (8) confirming the horrific diagnosis. They said I've probably had it for some time with such a high AC1... I am feeling very overwhelmed and pretty hopeless right now. The more I read on the internet the more confused I get and the more contradictory the messages are. I have no idea what is right and what isnt. I was put on metformin, told to do 60 minutes of exercise 5x/week and eat the South Beach diet avoiding anything white at all cost til I get this under control. No other instructions or advice. A battery of tests later my lipid and metabolic panels show my liver is not doing what its supposed to and another trip to the vampires to draw 7 additional tubes of blood and test for everything under the sun, those were all normal.

I was not scheduled to get a meter (pharmacy consult) for another 10 days but a friend directed me where to get a certificate for a free one (because of course my insurance covers NOTHING, dont even get me started on the cost of these test strips omg!) so I basically begged the dr to write the script for me. She told me my target was to have a reading of less than 120 when I wake up. I dont really understand my readings but I know they are NOT good and seem to be all over the place even though I have been exercising and very strict with what I have been eating (probably the wrong things) since I found out. Salads, lean meat/fish, yogurt, granola etc.

My husband is not supportive and is absolutely disgusted with me. He looks at me like I am white trash because I have done this to myself and nothing is going to tell him otherwise. He's under the same misconception as so many others that this disease is self inflicted by gluttony and basically told me so when I asked him just to support me. He told me "how can I support that?"

I am going through so many emotions right now. Grief, disbelief, disgust, hopelessness. The internet is so full of doom and gloom that I feel like I have been given a death sentence.

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

[dano]

Welcome to the Forum!

Take a breath and try not to get discouraged. You didn't do this to yourself, it's just part of our DNA and sadly our previous diets didn't help the cause. Hopefully, your husband will realize this in time. Just remember that you are not alone here, we are all in this together.

Read through the first three threads in the Type 2 Section, when you get a chance, if you have not already done so. These threads will most-likely help you a lot. Self education is one of the keys to successful management of your diabetes, along with a healthy / sensible diet and exercise. Basically, diabetes requires a life-style change for the better. Good luck with your control and management.

[saintlover]

My Metformin was increased this morning to 1000 mg and in two weeks the pm dose will go up to 1000mg as well. I've been walking 2 miles nightly and watching carb intake. I am very sensitive to carbs and will spike after eating something as simple as oatmeal and low carb canned soup. I have crossed them off the list of foods I can eat. Im hoping the metformin will help control the spikes better with time.

I went to the local diabetes chapter and met with the social worker today. Got signed up for education and nutrition classes. They are a great resource.

Stress is off the charts. As I said in my first post, my husband wasn't supporting me so I sat him down to talk to him about it and he left me. So not only am I dealing with my diagnosis, but now Im single after 20 years. Im just sick.

Good news is I've had my baseline eye exam and my eyes look very healthy. Next visit wont be for another year. I have also lost 8 pound since I started my meds 2 weeks ago.

[dano]

It looks like you did get some good news with the eye exam. Keep and eye on your feet and cuts or wounds that are slow to heal. I am sorry about your other problem. Maybe you didn't need him any way. It sounds like he was very self absorbed. I can't imagine someone doing that to another.

Stress will definitely drive your blood glucose levels up. I am sure that you have been told to not worry about the situation and to concentrate on your health. That is probably good advice, but sometimes it is very difficult to follow.

2000 mg per day of Metformin is about the maximum dosage. Hopefully it will help. I can tell you from personal experience that loosing as little as 10 pounds will help your numbers. The meetings with the diabetes chapter, social worker and the education and nutrition classes will be of great benefit to you. Stay connected and keep up the good work.

Concentrate on loosing the weight, buy yourself a new outfit when you get buff and find yourself a real man! Seriously, I wish you well and hope that happiness falls on you. Good luck with your control and management.

[saintlover]

Thank you

[covergirl]

Reading your post somewhat reminded me of myself when I was diagnosed in May of this year My A1C was 10.1 it was a total shock to me and if I had let it depression would have been my best friend. But anit nobody got time for that. At first I did not know what to eat or do and it seemed like my reading would never go down. But be encouraged they will. Be careful about cutting carbs completely out of your diet because you need them. I was on Metformin 500mg twice a day and then when I was given 1000mg it made me worst so more of meds is not your friend sometimes. I went back to the 500mg and I felt better. Also I learned its not what I eat but how much I eat of it. I love pasta and that is a carb but I have learned to keep my portion size smaller. I snack on cheese, nuts, yogurt, fruit (also watch portion size fruit has a lot of sugar) peanut butter,crackers. I use Stevia in place of sugar. My liver count was high at first and they put me on Glipizide which made me sick and have very low blood sugar so I took myself off of that which my doctor agreed on my decision to do so. Long story short three months later my A1C is 6.3 I lost 20 pounds by exercise and carb counting. I look at food differently now. Being a diabetic takes being smart and educating yourself. As my doctor told me I can give you the tools but you have to use them. My goal is to live med free and I know it can be done. I come from a family of this grandmother, father, brothers, sisters. My siblings control theirs by diet and exercise and no meds so I know it can be done. I will be praying for you be encouraged stay in the fight and you will see things change for you. Blessings!!

[smigly]

Oh my...reading the lives of others with diabetes makes me want to be so upset that people who are supposed to be your support system can fail so much. I feel so bad and mad that your husband left you and did not live up to his vows. BUT... now you must shoulder this yourself. Use this forum for additional support. That is what it is here for.

I also am recently diagnosed with this dreaded disease and am learning more and more about how to control it. Finding the resource of the diabetes chapter and education and nutrition is awesome news! I plan on doing the same thing for me. I didn't know such a thing existed. Time for me to gain more control too.

Thank you so much for posting so honestly. Have faith in yourself and your new-found confidence will continue to grow. God Bless.